Perhaps I’m the only guy on the planet who didn’t enjoy Iron Man 3, and that’s ok. This is the same guy who owns all the Marvel Phase One films and went to a Thursday night release of this film wearing a light-up Arc Reactor shirt. I wanted to love the movie, believe I did. But I couldn’t. Here’s why.

My issue with the film boils down to one thing: the title. The name of the film is simply “Iron Man 3.” With that title comes so many expectations. The “3” indicates the events of the film clearly take place after those of the first two and add value to the story. The name “Iron Man” suggests that the titular superhero will play a prominent role in the story. Those who expected these things to happen, like I did, will leave disappointed. Conversely, those who go in expecting a mindless, though entertaining, action film will have a good time.

I never keep up with the names of directors of Marvel films. As long as the actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson are in them, I’m good to go. That was my critical mistake here. Shane Black, the screenwriter of Lethal Weapon and the sequel and director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, directed Iron Man 3. Had I known this beforehand I would have walked in with a different mindset. Imagine going to a Peter Jackson film expecting a romantic comedy. You’re bound to leave disappointed, unless you consider Gollum’s obsession with the ring a kind of relationship.

Back to the title. “Iron Man 3” would have been more aptly called “The Adventures of Tony Stark” or “Lethal Weapon: Stark.” I was hoping to see more Iron Man in action, especially with the wicked-looking Mark 42 design but Tony loses the ability to use the suit well into the film. The subsequent scenes made me question whether I had walked into the correct theater.

This poster, while brillaint, is misleading.

That’s when Black’s Lethal Weapon and cop comedy background comes in. Tony has to use a gun to eliminate idiotic henchmen. As the scenes play out my notion of disbelief was disillusioned. Since when could Tony fire a pistol so deftly? When did he learn parkour? Really, Bruce Willis could have done these scenes just as well. And once Don Cheadle’s Rhody entered the mix, a montage of 80’s buddy cop comedy flicks played in my head. The credits scene, with the split-screen images and rock-and-roll music made it clear that this film worked as a homage to 80’s action films, but also as a disservice to comic book fans.

Don’t get me wrong. Iron Man 3 is a great film for what it is. In fact, I plan to watch it again to appreciate the style it was going for. Call it cop comedy throwback starring Tony Stark and Rhody. Just don’t call it a comic book film.

A more fitting poster, this would have been

I'm sure many disagree with me. Let's discuss this. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I'll be sure to respond.